Last year, the portable playing surface at the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium had the NFL confident about providing the best field in Super Bowl history. When it came time for the actual game, though, it was clear something went wrong with the field’s preparation, as players were slipping all over the place.
Well, the NFL will get another chance to get the field right this year with a similar tray system at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The field is treated and prepared outside the stadium and slid into the venue on a massive tray. The Cardinals were the first team to utilize that technology. Since then, the Raiders, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid have utilized similar systems.
Great view from various angles of the field tray at Allegiant Stadium being moved inside ahead of Sunday Night Football. pic.twitter.com/BDLJuwDsbO #vegas #raiders #stadium
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) November 23, 2020
The Super Bowl field has been growing outside the stadium in the build-up to the game, and it will be an entirely different surface than the rough-looking field the Raiders played on towards the end of the season.
Again, the NFL is confident that it will avoid a field mishap like the one in the 2023 Super Bowl.
More from NFL Executive Vice President Peter O’Reillyia ProFootballTalk:
“We have brought in, as we do each year, a brand new natural grass surface that is currently installed in the field tray outside Allegiant Stadium,” he said. “That has been in for a little bit now and is working through all of our standard testing procedures that’ll take place over the time from installation all the way up through the day before, that Saturday right before the game. Those adjustments and a core maintenance program are in place so we’ll have an optimal field on game day. That natural grass surface, brand new, is installed right now, and a great team maintaining it as we head up to the Super Bowl.”
The league added that its field maintenance specialists have been monitoring the field for weeks in anticipation of the game. Let’s hope the NFL learned from last year’s debacle and gets the field right for this Super Bowl.
